I hope that you're using the expression post-Nazi in the same sense as you would when describing Poland as a post-communist state. However, if you attempted an insulting barb at Germany and their current position in the EU, it's at best misguided and, to the point, rather stupid. Would you rather see the Euro collapse? Or Greece setting a fiscal example to the rest of Europe. I'd rather see the Europe led by Germany, the Netherlands and France than Greece and the like.

Poland was forced to become a communist state by Soviet tanks.
Germany, the German people democratically elected a National Socialist government.
You can call Macedonia FYROM, why not call Germany the FNFRG?
This is called equality.
You want to ressurect Hitler's Germany and Vichy France, and make Netherlands, a client state of the Former Nazist State of the Federal Republic of Germany... that is quite stupid in my opinion.
You want to be a slave, I want to be free.
The Euro will fall irregardless of the words of Frau Angela Merkelova, winner of the Soviet Contest of the Knowledge of the Russian langauge and culture from Baku 1976!!!
Merkelova can go back to Baku, if she so pleases. The woman was more communist in East Germany than Stalin himself.
I do not want an Europe run by a Communist, who herself was a Communist spy...
I want a free Europe.
Learn Russian, and then tell me that I'm stupid.
(I truly am astonished, how Angela Merkel's father, emigrated to post-Nazist East Germany from post-Nazist Western Germany. How Angela Merkel enjoyed the glamourous life of an ideological communist!!! The woman was a communist government officer for Pete's sake!!)

Charlemagne: “Their compact . . . has as its main aim the imposition of balanced-budget rules on members. This may be a useful discipline in good times. But many worry that, at a time of widespread crisis such pro-cyclical rules risk imposing too much austerity too widely, thus darkening the spectre of recession and making it even harder to balance budgets.”

This might be true. During a recession, increased government spending can stimulate business activity, create jobs and spur consumer spending – but where should the money come from when extreme debt accumulation already took place during ‘good times’ and markets now threaten to freeze up?

The Eurozone’s European Financial Stability Facility was downgraded by Standard & Poor's last month, following the downgrade of France as one of the EFSF’s major contributors to the bailout fund.

France was downgraded because it is widely believed that the country will politically not be capable of stopping its debt surge, let alone lowering the burden in the future, especially since Mr. Sarkozy’s contender – and possible successor - the leftwing frontrunner in the French presidential race, Francois Hollande, has vowed to pump more money into state-assisted jobs.

Since we all know that it's not ‘The Rich’ who keep up public finances, but the common run of the French taxpayers, Hollande’s promise to make the rich pay the highest price to help drag France out of the economic crisis sounds extremely hollow. Ultimately his program means that France under his presidency will have to rescind the stability compact . . . until the market freezes up on France also.

The ECB’s massive bond purchase might be able to help push the fiscal problems of an economy the size of Greece’s somewhat further down the road; it already fails to cover Italy’s deficiencies (if Italy flops in controlling its budget deficit quickly) . . . But to make up for France’s budget deficits as well?

– This would be a sure path to losing fiscal stability in those countries as well who, concerning their own fiscal management, have so far kept their housekeeping fairly tidy. It would end in the collapse of the common currency . . . and most likely of all eurozone economies, as predicted, regarding such scenario, by then Bundesbank President, Hans Tietmeyer, in 1998.

Consequently, if France fails to lower its debts (under a possible Hollande government), it will be sidelined as a guarantor-country and will have to join the ranks of the GIIPS countries.

Then the remaining ‘healthy’ countries, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and (maybe) Austria, will be faced with the choice either to leave the eurozone . . . or join the “Dead Poets Society”, driving their own finances over the abyss as well.

That's why the original Maastricht stability criteria demand that, under normal economic conditions, the overall debt should not exceed 60 percent of GDP. This gives enough buffer if, in case of a future economic downturn, the deficit targets can’t be met.

Strong voices in Germany, among them Hans Tietmeyer, then president of the Bundesbank, got banner headlines in 1998 for having expressed serious concern, in testimony before a Bundestag committee questioning him concerning the ‘to be’ existence of the euro.

This was in reference to whether Italy would be able to lower its debt levels enough to meet the requirements of the Maastricht stability pact that was to accompany the Jan-1-1999-start of the single currency. Also Portugal’s premature admission was criticized in this context. (That Greece would not be admitted into the Currency Club, at that time, was, anyway, not in question for the prudent Germans).

Mr. Tietmeyer said before the Bundestag that “much of the success of Italy's financial clean-up, so far, had been only due to declining interest rates” (NYT, April 6, 1998). "A change in the direction of interest rates could weigh heavily" on Italy's plans, he warned the future eurozone partners, “and could even become a death trap for the euro as a whole”. (Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer, April 2, 1998, before the German Bundestag).

Even so, then Prime Minister, Romano Prodi had pledged in 1998 to an intensive program of cutting debt to the Maastricht target level (Italy's debt then stood at 120 percent, double what the treaty allowed), the fixation with German criticism has been the subject of daily debate and indignation ever since 1996, and commentators said “the Italians had developed a sort of complex about it”. "It is becoming embarrassing," NYT cited Lorenzo Codugno, then chief economist at the Bank of America's Milan office.

Obviously, as we see now, it did not become “embarrassing" enough!

Italy (and the other troubled countries) can’t expect that those who were more cautious are drawn over the abyss by the profligates.

I wonder why Merkel is stubbornly addicted to the euro, it would be better for Germany and the whole lot of us that she quites the euro !

We aren't going to implement her silly austerity plan that even drove Germany into recession in the thirties, hence Hitler regime that followed !

For a reminder, France debt in 2011 was 81,3%, while Germany's was 83,2%, and the amount is already above 2 trillions euros, economists forecast that it will goes up to 7 trillions euros in the coming years, as social debt will come to term. So go on keep your austerity for yourself, we managed better without it, ie 2009, the german GDP decreased of 5%, while ours, of 2,5%

"A final row between France and Poland over who gets to attend which summits was resolved with a complicated compromise"...good one, dude; now tell us the one about the Easter Bunny, or the one about Global Warming. "Poland" caved in on all counts before "the little fuhrer" Sarkozy. Tusk and Sikorski would sign over their own mothers if the gauleiters of the Fourth Reich ordered it.
How-ever did those creeps get re-elected?

By the blessing of Angela Merkel and an attack on our national conscience.
You know, in Poland the Sacrament of Confession has a large following. In terms of moral theology, Poles are overly scrupulous. This means that we love to hit their chests in penance.
Tell the Pole that he has sinned, that he is an antisemite, that he is a homophobe, that he is a russophobe, that he is using "hate speech", he will hit his chest and ask for forgiveness. Not only will he confess his sins, but he will always try to repent and fix his wrongdoings. Then, add to that, that it seems that we are the only nation in the Europe who nominally practises Christianity, that furthers our isolation from the rest of Europe, and creates a topsy-turvy festival of binge penance for the sins of Western and Eastern Europe. Many Poles believe that only through our scrouples, will we achieve peace in Europe.
In reality, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus are all ruled by pseudo-Machiavellian cynics.
Sadly, our national humility and self-sacrifice will not create peace in Europe.
When Paris and London, Moscow and Berlin participate in drunken libiations and public man on man sex, our good will means nothing.

There you have it! Germany will cover France come what may its Germany's political figleaf with Italy polishing her boots.
So. what's Britain going to do about that!
Mr Cameron, Mr Economist... any ideas???

So this is a "quiet time". But the volcano is bubbling away underneath, none the less.

To obtain a respite in the financial world, you need money. For even a week. Lots of it. These things just don't happen.

So the question is "Who is paying?". Germany and America presumably, as no one else is capable and willing to pay. Certainly not the UK.

But for how long? Putting off the evil day (what evil day? When Greece defaults and the rest take major hair cuts) only gives time to perform distracting activities such as treaties and agreements of minimal use for the present.

I suppose the major theme of the politicians has been "Delay the pain, delay the pain" while this disease consumes all the fat and is now eating into the muscle. It will now take years for Europe to recover.

How many different kinds of Europe do they want? The initial mistake of the EU was to permit exceptions to the rules. If you want to build a common country, it must have fixed rules. Whoever wishes to join must abide by those -- if not, stay out. Half-membership for Britain was the beginning, extra rules for the Poles, and countless small exceptions for others followed. Now we have a choice between 17, 23, 25, 27, or 28. Even the 17 are again subdivided in PIIGS and others. That is simply not the way to become a United States of Europe -- ever!

I was actually referring to much earlier special rules for Poland that had been demanded and got by the Kaszinski government. Using this merely as an example, my point was simply that one can't have special arrangements for every arrondissement if one seriously intends to create a united nation.

I dont recall any special privileges given then... but I am not an expert on that.

As to building a union and special rules I would compare that to slavery issue in the USA. Different states had different economic models and wanted different things. So they were giving special rules and exceptions... this has lead to war.

Lets hope in EU case it will be resolved easier...I agree that it is better to have a small, yet motivated group than a large and weak one.

Lets see what happens if the east adopts the Euro too... I expect it to happen around 2020... then UK will be left alone....

I cannot say for Greece, but France still ranks as the first country in Europe with its number of millionnaires, and 3rd in the world, of course these persons might have moved their assets inSwitzerland, Luxembourg and or whatever financial paradise off shore

Twenty-five of the EU’s 27 member states that will sign up to this ‘fiscal compact’ is a landmark treaty that will aid co-ordination of their budget policies and impose penalties on rule breakers under a process known as ‘automaticity’. The Czech Republic and the UK opted out of the legally binding treaty, at a Brussels summit held prior to this agreement being made.

Strictly speaking, under EU law this is an intergovernmental agreement because the UK veto in December forced the other EU states into a Eurozone pact. The intergovernmental agreement should be written into the EU treaties and the plan is for it to enter into force on 1 January next year, if at least 12 eurozone countries have ratified it. The treaty will be signed in March and will remain open to other EU countries that may wish to join.

This deal is aimed at restoring confidence in the euro. EU governments (including the British Government) have agreed that much closer budget co-ordination is needed in the eurozone. The financial disciplines associated with better co-ordination will have some effect but whether that will solve the single currency’s broader woes is debateable. Consider, for example, the inherent flaws ever present in the euro zone, the absence of any lender of last resort and the feedback loop mechanisms that weaken sovereigns and their banks.

Since this is not a full-blown treaty, the deal should at least be adopted quickly, without time consuming debates in national parliaments or through the use of referendums.

Brings to mind Yes Minister's average European Commissioner, "as organised as the Italians, as Modest as the French and as Flexible as the Germans", they always seemed to sum up everything so perfectly!

Different languages were born to bring confusion between people (tower of Babel). Europe will never be economically/socially united for that simple reason. What would be possible is a World economic protocol which would unite the valuation of human resources, the monetary standard, and the exchange rate between currencies. For your information Google “The World Monetary Order”. http://theworldmonetaryordertocome.blogspot.com/2010/11/introduction.html

Is it relevant to note that we are in this mess SOLELY because the "rules" which created the Euro have been systematically and completely ignored or undermined over the past 12 years? These included limits on budget deficits in relation to total government spending and national GDP (generally a cap of no more than 3%of GDP and that only in exceptional circumstances!). Most important, the moral hazard "no-bail out" under any circumstances rule has been totally thrown aside and those who even mention it are called uncivilized at best.

Given this craven track record, what is to be expected of new "agreements". Very little or nothing I submit.

Jacues Delors, the "father of the Euro" seems to agree with you. It was his EU commission that created the rules by which the common currency was to abide. He recently predicted in the "Telegraph" that the Euro is doomed to fail because the politicians did not adhere to the rules laid down by his commission.

Frau Merkel is disappointing. Her first impact was excellent, a tough lady who had a plan and made no concessions. Now she melted a bit by siding with Sarkozi even if she doesn't approve everything he says. And she wastes too much time with these never-ending Summits . That’s getting as pathetic as the UN.
The word "eurosceptic" is always used as a pejorative. Whoever wrote this article should refrain from such childishness.
Mr Cameron is damn right. The UK is taking no lip from EU institutions.
Actually I think the UK would be much better off by pulling out of the EU altogether, the same for Germany ! And many of their nationals think the same.

Hi,
“Angie, Angie
When will those clouds all disappear?“ They came, meet she kissed all and thing were “cordial”. They made a deal with a few small cosmetic deficiencies. It won’t work.
Again against many constitutions, to deliver penalties on those who break the rule is like giving somebody who is bankrupt a fine for being bankrupt which he cannot pay. Thinking about the euro problems (I think the only one) we should have a two tear monetary system with the north member having a nuro and the south a suro. This considers the different rules and cultural differences with a system of financial compensation.
Regards Terence Hale

Isn’t “Anglo economics” (as it is simplified by some) all about
derailing the laws of mathematics and human logic, as if mathematical
facts could be forced to vanish by economic “newspeak”?

In “Anglo economics”, money, traditionally a means to store ‘goods and
services’, is no longer an equivalent for value (not even a promissory
note) but a means to evoke connotations of services rendered and goods
produced which in reality often never existed!! Now my dears, think, really think what this means...can this ever work??? The answer is no!

Since money is no longer ‘stored value’, all debt based on money
becomes ignorable (at least as long as the bondholders are stupid
enough to see it the same way).

However, we know that the overall success of the more recent Western
culture was due to stringent work ethics and sound financial values.

It may be no accident that those countries which broadly followed the
pattern of German sociologist Max Weber (saving, prudence, investment,
sobriety) are still solvent today - mainly countries of northern
Europe -, while those countries of southern and western Europe, which
rather adopted the modern Anglo economics of rapid gratification and
recklessness, are racked now with financial problems.

"anglo economics" is the modern
goal setting toward rapid gratification at the cost of sustainable
long-term planning.

This is contrary to the traditional “Protestant” values (though not
being fully congruent with the ‘religious map’) of living plainly,
preaching frugality, working hard, rising early, and anathemizing any
extravagance.

These ‘traditional’ values of Northern cultures have proven to be able
to produce within their societies the large and solid middle class
bodies so dearly needed for the sustainability of Western democracies.

As we watch the European crises, rescue plans, bailouts and "debt
forgiveness" unroll before us, it might occur that there was merit in
those old virtues, and the prudent mottos that so often went with
them: "A penny saved is a penny earned", "waste not, want not", "look
before you leap", "neither a borrower nor a lender be".

. . . This even more so as we also see societies fall to pieces in
countries which wandered most astray from those “Protestant” virtues
that create the state-bearing ‘middle class’ and are hence the basis
for any robust democracy.

Consequently the politicians of countries which ignored good
housekeeping for decades, are facing now huge debt loads and need to
borrow ever larger sums, currently try to pass the Black Jack onto
those countries that acted wiser and more prudent in the past.

Despite the fact that, so far, not one single euro-cent of Italy’s
debt was paid back, Mario Monti already threatened the last standing
‘core country’ of traditional “Protestant” values. He told the German
daily, Die Welt:
“If the Italians do not see concrete rewards for their willingness to
save and reform, there will be protests in Italy against Europe and
also against Germany which is seen as ringleader of EU intolerance and
against the European Central Bank.”

Yes, this seems the logical next step in the Eurozone’s “game of
irresponsibility”:

Be reckless beyond all measure . . . and then blackmail those which were not!

Excuse me, Mr. Goldman: It seems that while I was reading your
post, I noted that almost every word of your post was also
found in LV's post of January 26 @11:21 for which he has
64 recommends. Isn't it common courtesy to cite the creators
of the information presented herein when you use it? Please give credit where it is due.
Just wondering...?
here is a link to la.výritý's post:https://www.economist.com/users/lav%C3%BDrit%C3%BD/comments?page=2

To summit and to summit and to summit
Creeps on this petty pace from month to month
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out brief Cam'ron!
Th'EU's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

Euro fiddles while Rome burns,
And the world watches
Asking not, "For whom the bell tolls.
It tolls for E"U

Since I cannot vote in any European election,
Would my colleagues please, "Vote the bums out!"?